Thursday, 31 May 2012

Or, to put it another way, would you want to read a story
by someone who doesn’t know what they're talking about?

Me neither.

In fact, even if someone sounds like they don’t know what they’re talking about, that’s
enough to turn off most people. They don’t want to read that guy’s story, or
listen to his views, or spend any time in his presence.

When it comes to communicating with people, especially people you don't know personally, to ‘sound
like’ you know what you’re talking about is more important than actually
knowing what you’re talking about.

Monday, 28 May 2012

The reaction I want when I read a story is Ooh, possibly Ah and maybe, if I’m lucky, Woohoo! What I usually get when reading
a WIP is Meh, maybe Blah and more often than not, Huh?

It’s all very well advising writers to write something
interesting, but how do you do that? It’s all subjective isn’t it? When you
read a good book it holds your attention — sometimes it’s obvious why,
sometimes it isn’t.

So, here’s a list of the types of story elements that are universally
attention grabbing. 100% guaranteed or your money back.

Thursday, 24 May 2012

When you come across a moment where the
main character faces a difficulty, that is a precious and valuable thing to
have found. You need to keep digging until you get it all out.

What you shouldn’t do is find ways to make the problem go
away. In real life you should, in fiction you shouldn’t.

There are three main cop-outs I encounter again and again
when it comes to writers creating a wonderful opportunity for conflict and then
running away from it as quickly as possible. If you do any of these, you need
to stop. You’ve found gold, stop throwing it away.

Monday, 21 May 2012

Characters are the key to your story. You want readers
to connect with your main characters as quickly as possible. They should be able to see
them, know them and be interested in them.

The easiest way to do this is with clichés, which is what
often gets put on the page. Dave’s unhappy at work. Belinda’s in love with her
boss. Phil wants to be left alone. These sorts of things tell you something
vague and indeterminate... and instantly forgettable.

Also, bland (if accurate) description is very popular.
Hairstyle, eye colour, body-type. But the fact she has long, golden hair down to her waist, or
hazel eyes flecked with gold is like being shown a photograph of someone you don’t
know: meaningless.

If you want the character to really make a strong first
impression you need to find a way to get under the reader’s skin. How do you do
that?

Thursday, 17 May 2012

There’s a lot
of talk about whether books are priced fairly. Ebooks especially get a lot of
flak for being .99c or free.

Various
arguments are made for paying a fair price, not flooding the market, quality
control. A popular one is that people value things based on how much they pay
for them.

The truth is
all this fretting has nothing to do with money. It’s got to do with how you feel about
yourself as a writer. It’s got to do with how you think other’s see you. It’s
got to do with being valued as a person, and worrying that you're not.

Monday, 14 May 2012

There are plenty of successful
authors of gripping, bestselling novels whose writing, if you look at it in
technical terms, is crappy. But having an excellent grasp of grammar does not
guarantee a good story, either.

So, does that mean learning the
ins and outs of show versus tell and passive versus active writing is a
monumental waste of time?

Thursday, 10 May 2012

You read a
story, you loved the story, you were amazed the things that happened. Then you
read it again.

This is true
of all types of stories, movies, plays, comics. We go back to the stories we
enjoyed the most. Even though we know what happens. Nothing is surprising, and “What
happens next?” is a redundant question.

Monday, 7 May 2012

Readers enjoy the unexpected. Not
knowing what’s going to happen is part of the pleasure of hearing a story. But
just because you don’t know something doesn’t mean you want to know.

If a man approaches a crossroad
where he can turn left or right, you don’t know which way he’s going to choose.
But when he does choose, you won’t be surprised. You knew it was going to be
one of the two.

So a character going about his business, even though every action he takes is unknown to the reader right up
until it is revealed, won’t be engaging purely on the basis of not knowing.

Sunday, 6 May 2012

I usually post twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays. During
the A to Z Challenge I posted 26 times in 30 days. The effect of this was that I received a bump
in page views, some new followers, and as severe case of exhaustion.

I had planned to write my posts in advance and then schedule
them. The easy life. I managed to do rough outlines of all my posts, but that
still meant a rush to get them done on the day of posting. Best laid plans...

So, clearly the A to Z Challenge is a good way to boost blog
activity, even if it’s only for a month. Only, I have two blogs. This one, and
a Tumblr. I post the same things on both, the only difference is that the
Tumblr audience is all cool kids who love Korra, and it wasn’t part of the A to
Z Challenge. So how did the two blogs compare over the month of April?

Thursday, 3 May 2012

There will be times when you suspect you have too many pronouns in your story. I, I, I or he, she,
he, she. And as soon as you become conscious of this problem you will start
seeing them everywhere and it will feel like a big problem.

First thing to realise
is that it’s not a big problem. Pronouns are part of writing stories, you’re
just being hyper-sensitive. A good way to calm yourself down is to pick up a
book by a good writer and look through it. You’ll find pronouns packed to the
rafters and pouring off the page. It’s normal.

However, there are times when you
genuinely need to reduce pronouns, and that’s what this post is going to be
about.